Times of turmoil, uncertainty, inflation and recession have affected us all. Of course, we in the tech industry are no exception, but we also know that we have an extremely important role to play when there is a lot of pressure for change in society. If nothing else, this was very clear during the pandemic.

At TechSverige, we continue to do our utmost to support the industry and all our 1400+ members. Together with the development of technology, the tech industry, no matter how big the challenges we face, can ignite hope and show solutions. Like when Johan Tannerstad, Head of Electricity and Automation at ÖrebroBostäder AB, was named AI Swede of the Year on November 23. With AI and data-driven decisions, Örebrobostäder has saved 52 percent in electricity consumption and 18 percent in heat consumption since 2005. Or as when six winners - Tibber, Space Academy, Stick Beat & Ecpat Sweden, Örebrobostäder, Recorded Future and Marcus Murray - in as many categories received their awards at the Tech Awards on March 22.

Tech is a new Swedish basic industry and accounts for many of the new jobs. But even though its contribution to GDP is now almost as large as the sum of the traditional basic industries, the Swedish tech industry needs to pick up speed to avoid falling too far behind other countries. This is particularly evident in our report A tech agenda for Sweden, released at the end of May. In it, we listed 37 policy proposals in ten different areas to help create greater political commitment, proposals that we have also had the privilege of presenting directly to the Minister for Civil Affairs Erik Slottner and the Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin.

Only a few weeks after the launch of A Tech Agenda for Sweden, we delivered our next report, Sustainable tech & tech for the climate. In it, we show the great opportunities that digitalization offers for our ability to transition to a more sustainable society. We highlight the opportunities of tech, but also the sustainability challenges that the tech industry itself needs to work on.

Last fall, we launched our high-profile campaign Addera tech, where we at TechSverige, together with our member companies, targeted individuals in professional life who want to change careers or update their skills. The skills shortage in the industry is great and with Addera tech we want to highlight and facilitate the path to jobs. We are pleased to say that the campaign reached around 700 000 people.

As we close the books, I would like to extend a big thank you to our committed and wise board, the fantastic team at TechSverige, all our partners and, of course, above all to all our member companies! Together we continue to work for a world-leading tech sector in Sweden!

Åsa Zetterberg
Director of the Association